While weightlifting does burn as many calories as aerobic exercise such as running, it causes adaptations in the body that help make it more efficient even when at rest. These changes can explain why weightlifters can lose weight. Other factors contribute to calorie burn and weight loss such as the style of your workout. Your genetics also play a role, explains the American Council on Exercise. Your body type may determine your genetic predisposition to muscle gain and the resulting effects on your weight.
Calorie Burn
Weightlifting burns good amounts of calories through the involvement of large muscle groups. For example, a 150-pound person can burn up to 204 calories an hour using either free weights or exercise machines at moderate intensity. If you kick up the effort, the calorie burn doubles to 408 calories an hour. When compared to running's 544 calorie burn an hour, weightlifting offers an effective way to burn calories despite the fact that your movements are more controlled and slower than aerobic exercise.
Adaptations to Exercise
A factor helping weightlifters lose weight lies in the effects of exercise on the human body. Strength training will increase muscle mass through a process of muscle damage and subsequent repair. From a biological perspective, muscle tissue is highly active metabolically. To function, muscles require energy even when at rest. That translates into a higher metabolic rate.
Muscle vs. Fat
Weightlifting lends itself well to fat loss. Exercising at moderate intensities of 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate is ideal for fat burn, explains a 2009 study by the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. At higher intensities associated with aerobic exercise, the body relies more on carbohydrates for energy. The combination of a higher metabolic rate and fat burn provides a potent means for weight control. A 2007 study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine offers further evidence. Women in the study who engaged in regular strength training lost almost 4 percent total body fat versus the 0.14 percent in women who did not strength train.
Workout Routine
There are several things you can do to up your calorie burn from weightlifting and accentuate your weight loss. Before beginning your workout, you can make sure all the equipment you need is handy so you can quickly move from exercise to exercise. You can also reduce or even eliminate the rest periods between each exercise or set to maintain your higher heart rate. You can also interject some aerobic activity between each of your weightlifting exercises such as jumping rope or running in place. Finally, total body workouts will help ensure that you are working all major muscle groups for maximum health benefits.
References
- American Council on Exercise: How Women Build Muscle
- Discovery Health: Activity Calorie Burn Rate
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Step 6: Why Use Weights?
- "Strength Training for Women"; L. Incledon; 2004
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; Quantifying Differences in the "Fat Burning" Zone and the Aerobic Zone: Implications for Training; D. Carey; October 2009
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Strength Training and Adiposity in Premenopausal Women: Strong, Healthy and Empowered Study; K. Schmitz, et al.; September 2007
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